you can enjoy the milder conditions if you would like to run outside. even golfable weather for the next few days. 41. tennis outside, not under the bubble. 41 at noon. mid-40s in many areas for highs with a 50:00 p.m. temperature down to 41. one disturbance dropped a coating of snow in places like harvard, prince, frederick. had a little dusting down in mechanicsville. second disturbance coming through giving us clouds more than anything. clouds keep the temps up. upper 20s to 30 in much of the shenandoah valley. luray is up to 33. we're 34. we're looking at highs this afternoon. well up into the 40s. going to be much more comfortable than it has been. let's go to monika samtani here at 6:00 a.m. with timesaver traffic. >> couple of problems now cropping up around town. good morning, everybody. as the volumes increase, we begin to see a few problems, first of although, the beltway is doing fine all around town. we're going to take a look at

270 coming down from frederick and mt. airy along 270, you see the yellow volume is building from 850 as you head -- from 85 as you head toward clarksburg. the pace does improve. it slows down again in rockville. back over to the maps. this time down to 295 where there is an accident at the bolling air force base. it is taking up the right side of the roadway. police have arrived on the scene. you know how quickly that can affect traffic. we'll go outside live right now. if you're planning to head here on the beltway at route 4, pennsylvania avenue. everything is fine coming up from waldorf on route 5 and route 301 as well. down in southern maryland, an overturned vehicle due to icy conditions has blocked the thomas johnson bridge. in my next report, we'll take a look into virginia at 6:14. back to you. thank you, monika. lawyers for d.c. councilman harry thomas jr. will be meeting with federal prosecutors. >> they may be hammering out a

plea deal that will end up with thomas leaving office. >> it is a story 9news now brought you first. delia gonsalves is live with a preview of what's expected to happen today. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, mike. we're hearing that harry thomas could plead guilty to one -- at least one federal felony charge that carries a penalty of up to three years jail time. so, it is likely thomas will again be a no show at the council. sources tell us he has already instructed his staff to look for other jobs. harry thomas is accused of misusing $300,000 meant for his youth baseball league for personal uses. the fbi and i.r.s. raided his home last month, seizing an suv, motorcycle and several documents. the mayor says though he hasn't heard from thomas in some time. >> the justice system has been given an opportunity to work and i think that's the fair way to do this and if council member thomas chooses to resign, he is then taking that

action and what we hope is to be able the residents of ward five are well represented. >> speaking of representation, i talked to chairman kwame brown and he says if that seat is vacated, the city will hold a special election to fill that post within 114 days. he'll have more from the chairman coming up in a half hour. mike? >> thank you, delia gonsalves live outside the wilson building this morning. >> occupy d.c. protestors in mcpherson square are taking the park police to court. they want a judge to prevent police from evicting them or removing their belongings. protestors claim police have taken items without warning and without giving protestors a chance to get their stuff back. right now, a judge's order requires park police to give 24 hours notice if they want to clear an area. there is a law against camping or sleeping in the square but police have not enforced it. >> president obama will head to the pentagon. he will be there to hear about a military downsizing program. "the new york times" reports the overhaul was designed by defense secretary leon panetta.

according to the times, it will include reducing the army to 490,000 soldiers over the next year. that is down from 570,000 now. the pentagon will delay purchasing the new f-35 joint strike fighter. it will not include a reduction in the military's carrier fleet. the cuts are motivated by a drop of $450 billion in pentagon spending over the next ten years. time to focus on campaign 2012 this morning. and what's old is new again. in the district, marion barry will formally announce he's running for another term op the d.c. council. the 75-year-old democrat has already served two terms. barry told "the washington post" he might not serve the entire term. he hopes to transfer his seat to his son, christopher. maryland senator ben cardin will face a primary challenge this spring. state senator c anthony muse will announce he's running against cardin. muse represented prince george's county in annapolis

since 2007. and the shake-up in the race to be the democratic nominee in maryland's sixth congressional district. trachtenberg is dropping out. she says she's fighting breast cancer again and she needs to focus on her health. businessman john delaney is getting in the race. the 48-year-old is from potomac. he will face state senator rob gaj ola for the democratic nomination. the winner will face off against roscoe bartlett. >> for montgomery county public schools, the math simply doesn't add up. the county has asked the state lem slate tour for $184 million to help upgrade and renovate aging school buildings but the state is only offering $24 million. >> we have about 2500 more kids every year coming in and it is important that we have facilities they need to meet the growth. >> the county plans to keep asking the state for the extra

cash. time right now, almost 6:06. i'm jessica doyle. i'm watching your money. did you know there is a growing number of young adults who will put their savings ahead of their social lives? this morning, the small things you can do to save, lisa german know is a cpa and a member of the american institute of certified public accountants. they're behind the financial literacy campaign called feed the pig. thanks so much for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> tell me a little bit about feed the pig and this new psa you guys have. >> feed the pig started in 2006. right now, young adults ages 25 to 34 years old, that's what we identify as young adults are having a hard time saving. they experienced from 2007 to 2009 the largest decline in wealth. so, the issue today for the young adults is they're starting out, getting married, buying cars, their debt burden is high and their savings are low. >> you have this psa campaign. what does that look to

accomplish? >> the educational campaign that's being refresh began in 2006 and after some surveying of these young adults found that 94% of them wanted to save but they're having a really hard time saving $25 a week. this new campaign has a great tag line. save a few bucks, feel like a million bucks because we found that savings really does make people feel good. the young adults need a reason to save and they need to feel good about saving. >> i had a conversation with suze orman. she talked about as a nation we need to get into this habit where it feels as good to save as it does to spend. if we don't have more money coming in, how do we save money? what are some strategies to employ to do that? >> we spend money more reisly than we think. there are so many easy saving tips. downloads. 25-year-olds to 34-year-olds download music. they don't think about the cost. they want it, they buy it. they don't think about it. if you think about how much you spend in the downloads, you can

probably save some money. also, those automatic payments. sometimes you don't even remember that you have automatically subscribed to certain news media or, film and so you can find lots of savings in just looking at what is automatically coming out of your account each month. >> people might think a couple bucks here and there doesn't really add up but it does. >> absolutely. every little dollar you save is going to be compounded. that is what's going to make you feel good is putting it away and seeing it grow. >> lisa, thank you so much for coming in this morning with these strategies. feed the pig.org. check it out. >> don't forget to feed the pig. >> we'll feed the pig along with you. andrea and mike? >> thank you, jess. coming up, cool schools goes airborne! >> we'll show. >> program taking 30 teachers in the air to experience zero g. >> it is chilly out there this morning. not as bad as yesterday.

in three minutes, howard gives us a sneak peek at the weekend weather. we'll be back. >> but first, the national symphony is leaving the kennedy center and heading out to columbia heights. it is called nso in your neighborhood. it begins tonight. with two free concerts. one at acre 121 and the other at busboys and poets both begin at 7:00. performances run through the weekend. for a complete run-down, head to wusa9.com.

>> we have a check of the stories making news this thursday morning. at least 23 people are dead in the latest violence in iraq. two shiite neighborhoods were hit by bombings this morning. their intensifying fears of more violence after the last american combat troops pulled out of iraq last month. republicans may take the president to court over his recent appointment of rob cordray to lead the consumer protection bureau. they had blocked president obama's choice for the post. g.o.p. senators say the senate never officially went into recess during christmas. >> already worried about filing your taxes? you get a little extra time this year. the i.r.s. deadline is april 17th this year. that's because the 15th falls on a sunday and the 16th is the emancipation day holiday in the district. >> we all could use a little extra time. >> yes, we could. >> but we get what we get. >> but then there are those extensions. we love those, too. >> all right, mike. >> weatherwise -- >> try to be positive.

you're like buzz kill. >> we get what we get. >> come on, mike. >> weatherwise, we'll get a little reward here. we stopped with the arctic air. today, we're going to get 40s. tomorrow and saturday, we'll get 50s. we'll take that because we have more cold before winter is done. that's for sure. let's get you going with the bus stop forecast this morning. partly sunny conditions. right now, it is overcast. disturbance coming through. over the next couple of hours, sunshine is going to return west to east. the 20s and 30s to start with sunrise at 7:27. sunset, 5:00 p.m. on the nose here in washington. as far as the day planner, looking pretty good. 41 by noon. high around 44 here in the district. upper 40s even possible south and southwest of d.c. with west to northwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour. at times, it will get a bit breezy and the winds will die off some tonight. radar echos from last night. disturbance came through. dropped a little dusting, coating of snow if you will.

places like harvard, got reports from pax river. also in calvert county. the slick spots causing a few issues. monika is talking about the bridge. overturned truck. the radar echoes not reaching the ground so just some clouds out there. the clouds keeping temperatures on the milder side this morning. especially compared to yesterday when we had some single digits. now, we've got upper 20s to low 30s out there. the wind chills aren't much. the winds are pretty light. 29 in lovettsville and 28 for reston. 32 in arlington. columbia, 29. up in fulton, that's a little bit of a dusting on the pool cover there at her place. rockville is 30 and this morning, reagan national checking in, one of the warmer readings, 34 degrees. winds light out of the south- southwest at 3 miles per hour. our dew point up to 24. mild air covers much of the country. there is some cold across northern new england.

the arctic air is well up into canada with the jet stream coming onshore, the pacific northwest rising into southern canada then taking that dip in the east for now. the ridge out west, that's going to build in. that will allow the milder temperatures to move in and for us, our next storm system may not get here until the middle of next week. system i was talking about yesterday for sunday morning, that's going to be weaker and farther south so i'm taking that chance of precip off the board. 44 today are. tomorrow, 55. 54 saturday. still nice. sunday and monday, a little bit cooler in the upper 40s. necks week, still mild monday and tuesday. it is 6:15. monika is checking in with timesaver traffic. >> things are beginning to slow down around town. we have this accident on the northbound side of 295. here's what it looks like northbound on 295. accident on the end of the ramp from first sterling avenue to get on to 295. police are on the scene. do expect slow traffic forming

in this area. let's take a look outside live at the wilson bridge. here's what it looks like if you're traveling through oxon hill or through alexandria. you're going to be just fine. back over to the maps and this time, we'll head over to the northbound side of 395 which is running around 63 miles per hour. duke street inside the beltway on 66, you'll find fairfax drive. if you're planning to head over to 66, live look from sky 9. at route 28 in centreville. it looks like this coming in from manassas. the inbound side is the left side of your screen. manassas to centreville. you're ok until you get over toward route 123. may slow down a bit at nutley street. more on area roadways at 6:24. back to you, mike. >> thank you, monika. the big yellow bus is here and it is headed for the airport in today's cool schools. dulles airport. where teachers are taking their love of science to new heights. they're going so high, they'll know what it will be like to be

almost weightless. hold on. it is time for liftoff. >> for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. you've heard newton's laws of motion but have you ever felt them? like this. 30 teachers got the opportunity of a lifetime, experiencing zero gravity. and their students are pumped. >> they're excited for me. they want to see me do flips and they're fired up. >> to inspire the next generation of scientists, inspire those who teach them. that's the motivation behind north group grumman foundation sponsoring weightless flights of discovery. >> you are truly the heart beat of this nation. you take the time out for your young people every day and we're just very excited to be able to offer this opportunity. >> this boeing 727 is exactly like the one you would fly on to go on vacation. so, how can it simulate zero

gravity? well, it has something to do with a parabola. >> they'll push over and just as they start to push over, you're going to float and then as they come over the other side, you'll float for about 27 to 30 seconds. and so will the experiment they bring on board. >> see if i can move some water and move some things in the element. >> we're dropping different balls of different masses to see how weightlessness affects the speed of it falling. >> all right, zero g. >> oh, then there is the fun part. >> whoa! that is cool. >> teachers get 12 chances to feel weightless during the 90- minute flight and when they get back on earth, getting back to the classroom is the first thing they think about. it doesn't get much cooler than that. >> one moment you feel helpless and the next moment, it is an

adrenaline rush. everything is awesome. >> i want them to be excited about science and they should consider science as a career. >> science can be a lot of fun. if you have a cool program, please e-mail me to mhydeck at wusa9.com. we would love to feature your school in the coming weeks. >> that looks like so much fun. did anything float around? >> some people didn't quite keep their food down. only two people out of 30 plus. that was pretty good. >> were you in that number? >> no, i did fine. >> very good. i'm proud of you. >> a thriller at verizon center between georgetown and marquette. while it is not even close with west virginia at the orange bowl. >> wait until you see that. >> before we head to break, another check of the question of the morning. the average person does one of these things 70 times per day. is it a, pass gas. b, complain or c, check their e- mail. >> facebook friend brenda think the answer is b, complain.

the people at work say i complain all day so that is my answer. i say i complain so they know i'm there. >> keep the guesses coming. we'll reveal the answer at 6:53. we'll be right back!

welcome back. 6:23. your weather first. warmer. it is so cold outside. the arctic chill is down. temps in the 20s and 30s. decent day ahead with a good deal of sunshine. temperatures you'll like. had a dusting in a few spots overnight. especially east and southeast of town. today, by midday, we'll be in the low 40s. looking for highs today in the mid-40s with winds west to northwest, 10, maybe 15 miles per hour. just a bit breezy at times. warmer temperatures for friday and saturday. andrea? >> thanks, howard. in sports, it didn't look good for georgetown last night against marquette. >> the hoyas trail by 14 at the half. they were down by 17 later in

the game. >> but georgetown knows drama. they rallied back to tie the game at 70. 22 seconds left and hollis thompson hit the three-pointer. hoyas up by three. in the final second, the golden eagles desperation shot is no good. georgetown tops marquette 73- 70. hoyas have won 11 in a row with their longest winning streak in five years. over in the nba, the wizards are off that their worst start in team history. they were in orlando last night. dwight howard had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the magic. wizards lose 103-85. d.c. begins the season at 0-6 for the first time, the wizards host the knicks tomorrow. perhaps the coolest sports highlights you'll see will come from this game. west virginia set or tied nine bowl game records in miami last night! that includes the most points scored by a team, 70! on 10 touchdowns! here is the craziest play.

clemson's ellington fumbles the ball. he's on his team's 1-yard line. west virginia's darwin cook picks it up and returns it 99 yards to the house. only the orange mascot could have stopped them. mountaineers win over clemson. who was picked to win the game? final score, 70-33. our time is 6:25. still to come, jessica doyle pulls out her crystal bowel and tells us what the -- crystal ball and tells us what the economy could look like. >> imagine playing video games from now until the weekend. that's what a group of gamers is doing. >> monika has a quick check on our traffic. >> on the northbound sigh of i- 295, right here at first sterling, watch out for the decent the off-ramp. it is affecting 295 and the suitland parkway. coming up, we'll also look into maryland at 6:30. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

thanks, mom. who are you calling "mom"? dunkin' sausage pancake bites, delicious like mom's, only easier to carry -- get three for $1.59. good thursday morning. we're back at 6:29. this is the place you can always get your weather first. here is a live look out by dulles airport. 30 degrees there this morning. in the distance, you can see one of the coolest places you need to go if you haven't been,

the center for the air and space museum, one of the space shuttles will be going on display in spring. it was on this date 40 years ago, president nixon created the shuttle program. good morning and thank you for starting your day with us. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. glad you're here. meteorologist howard bernstein live on the weather terrace with a look at the forecast. much warmer this morning, howard. >> it is cold but not the teeth chattering cold of yesterday morning when we had single digit wind chills. this morning, we're from 20 degrees or warmer in many spots. we're calling for temperatures to really warm up nicely compared to the last couple of days. 41 by noon with 34 already. 36 by 9:00. by 5:00 p.m., high of 44. maybe 45 degrees. a bit of a breeze at times. had a little bit of snow flurries, snow showers last night. gave a dusting in spots. mainly east and southeast of town. a second disturbance bringing clouds. as that passes, we'll see skies that will break up some. your temperatures in manassas

and culpepper with 30 in leesburg going into the 40s. let's go inside to monika samtani and find out how things are flowing on the area roadways. >> not so well on 66. live look from sky 9. at business route 234 where the accident has been moved off to both shoulders. attracting enough attention to cause slow traffic through here. inbound 66 at business route 234. we'll take you over to the maps now. the beltway looks fine actually. you just got your normal slopes up all around town in the silver spring area down in annandale and heading north on i-95 in springfield. if you're traveling on the north side of the beltway, you'll find the slow traffic as you approach georgia avenue. 270, overall delays coming out of frederick, route 85 down to 121. here again at shady grove. a little slower than the speed limit as you head down toward montrose road and then you're ok down to the point where the lanes divide. back over to the maps, we'll head over to an accident on the northbound side of 295 right at

first sterling avenue. it has been there for about 20 to 30 minutes so it is causing some slow traffic on the suitland parkway and north on 295 trying to get past the accident scene. let's take a live look into the downtown area. pennsylvania avenue near the reagan building and the willard intercontinental hotel. no problems to report in the northwest corridor here. looking great. coming up, i'll update you on the situation on 66 at 6:45. >> staffers for d.c. city councilman harry thomas jr. are being told to look for other jobs now. >> thomas is expected to resign amid allegations he stole money that was supposed to go to charity. >> 9news now was the first to bring you this story. delia gonsalves is live outside the wilson building to tell us what will be going on today. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, mike. we're getting a better idea of exactly how this is all going to play out in a time line according to sources that we've been talking to. we could see a plea deal later today which means we could see

harry thomas jr. in court facing charges as early as tomorrow. the council member was a no- show at the council hearing yesterday. sources say he was meeting with federal prosecutors to iron out a plea deal. if he pleads guilty to one felony charge, he could face up to three years behind bars. last month, federal agents sized an suv, a motorcycle and several documents during a raid of his northeast home. >> if, in fact, he decides to step down, he makes the decision and if the rumors are true, we would move once that takes place. right now, that's all speculation. we're going to do everything i can to make sure i deliver what residents want to take place in their city and if we miss the bar on any particular way, i'm going to double my efforts to make sure we bring back the confidence and integrity. >> now, here is an interesting side note. no council rules that prevent someone from running for public office after they've been convicted of a felony.

harry thomas jr. has been in office here at the wilson building since 2006. mike? >> thanks, delia gonsalves live outside the wilson building this morning. the montgomery county man who crashed his car and left his friends to die will be sentenced in court later today. 20-year-old kevin coffey was drunk the night of the crash. in olney last spring. three of his friends were killed. a fourth survived the crash. coffey admits he ran off. he pled guilty to manslaughter charges in november and a judge could sentence him to 40 years in prison. we're just five days away from the new hampshire primary. the latest poll from the granite state shows mitt romney's numbers holding steady but his opponents are sliding down. the former massachusetts governor has a commanding lead with 43%. texas congressman ron paul is a distant second at 14% and that's down 2 points from tuesday. former senator rick santorum is down at 6%. last night on 9news now at 7:00

p.m., kyle with cq roll call talked about the biggest challenge for romney going forward. >> can romney coa less some of the conservatives that are questioning what he did in massachusetts as governor including healthcare there. >> minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann officially suspended her campaign wednesday. she finished in sixth place in iowa. bachmann has not announced whether she will endorse another candidate. later today, the president will announce his plan to boost summer employment. the we can't wait initiative is an alliance between the government and private sector to put more teens to work. many of the positions would be unpaid however the young employees would learn job skills and develop a work ethic. republicans are already criticizing the plan saying the president is trying to take credit for creating jobs for positions which would have been created anyway. mike? thanks, andrea. jessica doyle is watching your money and she's looking at how

the local economy is going to fair in 2012. she's got a little crystal ball sort of. >> i'm shaking it up. trying to make it sparkly. i wish the outlook was as sparkly as my fake little crystal ball here. >> want me to hold that for you? >> the picture for 2012 is pretty unclear locally. we have a lot of factors that continue to hang over the national economy and the local economy. issues like the possible impact of the european crisis here on our shores but the deadlock in washington about spending priorities is likely to have a significant impact on the local economy. that's something that is going to have far-reaching consequences. >> we here in washington as we've reported are sort of in a bubble. however, it still can have an impact when it comes to the gridlock and jobs. how is that concerned locally or nationally? >> very significant impact. dr. steven fuller, an economist at george mason spends a lot of his time crunching about the local economy. he tells us he will see significant -- we're seeing the significant odd reversal for

washington. private sector hiring is outpacing public sector hiring. that just doesn't happen in washington. the reason why government budgets are so uncertain right now, given the budget fighting on capitol hill plus there is that election, that big one adding a whole new level of uncertainty. in an odd turn, the national jobs picture looks clearer than the local one because you can more clearly predict the sectors that will do better in 2012. our leading sector is government. that's usually a benefit. right now, less so ultimately by the end of year, dr. fuller expects the local unemployment rate to drop a little bit from where it stands right now. not a huge improvement though. >> the other thing that has been hamstringing the markets is the housing market specifically. we had the long wave of foreclosures. then the second wave. what does it look like moving forward? >> the housing market looks clearer than the job market. in the situation, local real estate market, it stabilized 2

years ago. virginia is further along than suburban maryland. sales slowed down in the summer. they have started to regain momentum in terms of sales and prices. we could see a little bit more momentum building may become a little bit easier for folks to sell their houses. i wouldn't expect it to be a barnburner in terms of home sales either. >> get a little bit of the value back. >> andrea? >> gamers look being to put the countless hours in front of the tv to use, here's your chance. the maryland-based group speed demos archive is hosting the six-day nonstop video game marathon in chevy chase. looks like fun but the competition isn't all about the best scores and bragging rights. the money raised from the event is donated to the prevent cancer foundation. >> we would like to at least hit our goal that we made last year but we would like to raise $80,000 because that covers a two-year research grant that the foundation funds.

>> the group raised $53,000 last year. the gaming marathon runs through monday. if you would like to participate, we've made it easy for you. just go to wusa9.com and click on features and you'll find the link under the morning show tab. time is 6:39. coming up in about nine minutes, yoga without all of the bending and twisting of your body. we'll show you how. it is easy. it can actually help you lose weight. >> gotta see it to believe it. >> the temperature out there this morning is double what it was 24 hours ago. howard says we could be in the 50s by tomorrow. a check on your weather first is next. >> thanks again for choosing channel 9. here's what's on tv tonight...

from the bedroom you could see the fire and that work me right up. and it was absolutely terrifying. we got out of there as quickly as we could. i'm watching the house burn up and i'm sitting there saying, there goes everything. these days you don't have to lose your house in a fire to

know what it's like to be left on the edge in the cold. the shelter gave us a place to stay. and citizens energy helped the shelter with heat. i'm excited to finally have a place of my own. citizens energy is helping us with the oil. citizens energy was created to help the forgotten ones keep warm. we asked the big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. only citgo and the people of venezuela said yes. and this year, in spite of soaring fuel prices, congress cut home heating assistance nearly in half. while people need help more than ever. for the last seven years, citgo has helped families and homeless shelters in good times and in bad. thanks joe and thanks citgo. so if you need help staying warm this winter give me a call because no one should be left out in the cold.

welcome back.

6:43. howard here. your weather first on this thursday morning. we start with the bus stop forecast. and i'm happy to tell. >> lot warmer than it has been. temperatures this morning running in the 20s and 30s. we're overcast at the moment. we're going to see some breaks develop here in a little while from west to east as a disturbance pushes through. sunrise, 7:27 setting at 5:00 p.m. we're looking good today. we'll be in the low 40s. winds west to northwest, 10 to 15 miles per hour. at times a bit breezy. this afternoon's highs will be low to mid-40s with a west wind at 8. tonight, we're dropping back into the 20s and low 30s for lows. by 8:00 p.m., we'll be in the 30s with lighter winds in the south to southwest. snow showers pushing east of us. had a little bit of a coating in calvert, st. mary's county, halverty grace had a coating up there. 28 in gaithersburg. 30 in the shenandoah valley. we sit at 34 along with pax river. look at the wind chills, not much wind chill to talk about. again, mid-20s in winchester and hagerstown to about 30

there in easton and pax river. 34 reagan national. cloudy skies. a light south-southwesterly wind. the barometer is creeping up there. 29.98. arctic air, there it is. the white pink areas, the arctic air. no really cold, cold stuff across the country although it is 16 in caribou. lots of 30s, 40s, really not bad at all for january. a cold start today giving way to mid-40s this afternoon under sunny skies for the most part. even tomorrow, a couple of clouds here and there from time to time but we're looking good. temperatures on friday even milder into the 50s. so, today, 44. it will be chilly with more sun as we go through the morning. tonight, 20s and 30s. comfortable. light winds. 55 tomorrow. better with lighter winds then today. saturday, still nice. 54. sunday and monday, a little bit cooler. i pull the precip out from sunday morning. by wednesday of next week, that's when some rain develops.

behind that. another shot of cold air moves in toward the end of next week. let's go to monika with timesaver traffic. >> a couple of accidents in manassas. i'll get to that in a moment. good morning, everybody. if you're planning to head out on to the beltway, that's incident-free. 295 from the beltway toward first sterling, watch out for the accident cleanup that's been there for awhile now. no problems to report as you travel inbound on 395. let's take a look live on the northbound side. looking good at seminary road better than the last couple of days trying to get to the mark center or the 14th street bridge. this time, we'll head over to 66. in fact, let's take a live look on the inbound side of 66, bit route 234 from our sky 9 shot. the accident has been here for awhile on both shoulders. we have got quite a bit of slow traffic on the inbound side of 66 getting past this. it is attracting attention. the lanes have been open for some time. about 15 minutes or. so the damage is done here. beyond that, it is going to be slow again as you approach the beltway leaving nutley street.

prince william parkway atiates, just got word of an accident. in my next report, another look around the area at 6:58. back to you. if you had a busy, hectic holiday season, this morning, we're helping you take a deep breath and relax. time to learn about relaxation yoga and how it can help you lose weight. we're joined this morning by rebecca bly, a certified yoga instructor. you may recognize rebecca from being here earlier with us. good to have you back. >> thank you. >> i want you to take a look at kim. this is what i call deep relaxation. she looks like she's asleep almost. but rebecca, everything we hear about losing weight is we have to move. kim is not moving. >> she's not. this is a really important part of kind of a full losing weight program is relaxing. this is a specific type of yoga called restorative yoga. it is about holding a position like this for a long period of time in order to help the body to completely relax from the

inside out. >> how does relaxing from the inside out help me lose the pounds? >> there are three main ways. the first really important one is doing something like this for a long period of time triggers the parasympathetic nervous system. >> ok. what's that? in english? >> commonly known for functions in the body, rest and digest. so, if she sits here for about ten minutes, that will trigger that response in her body and then what happens is functions like detoxification, elimination will happen more easily and the stress weight we might be holding on to will be able to let go. >> if we just do this, are there other positions we should adapt in the restorative yoga that will help? >> there are definitely many different positions you can do. i think a great way to start, especially in the new year when you're starting to make changes slowly, do something like this for just ten minutes a day. you can go to relax for 10

minutes.com. there is a guide relaxation you can do. you don't need all of the fancy props. she's got a pillow under her head. a pillow under her legs. she's comfortable and supported. >> start out slowly for about 10 minutes. people want to know is it going to take me a month to lose five pounds? how long before we see some results? >> well, this is a long-term process. especially people who practice yoga learn to really become in tune with their body and listen to messages that their body is sending them. so that this will take, over time, with exercise and good diet that will you start to not only lose weight, you'll have more energy to exercise more. you will sleep better. >> ahh! >> you will be less stressed out overall. >> it sounds good. rebecca, thank you for being with us. kim, wake up. thank you as well. the time is 6:49. a check on the news before you go is next.

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6:52. 34 now in washington. some 20s out there. isolated slick spot mainly east. we'll see sunshine returning this morning. low 40s by noon with highs 42 to 48 and a bit breezy at times. mike? >> thank you, howard. today is thursday, january 5th. here is a check of the news before you go. lawyers for d.c. city council harry thomas jr. will be meeting with federal prosecutors today. as we were first to report, thomas is expected to resign this week. it will be part of a plea deal over accusations he used money intended for charities on himself. thomas could end up with some prison time as well. fas work by wssc crews has the money back on in bowie.

a main ruptured near central avenue. several customers were left high and dry for several hours. >> thompson hit a tie-breaking three-pointer with 24-seconds to cap a comeback from 27 points down. hoyas top marquette 73-70. >> time to answer our question of the morning. the average person does which of these things 70 times a day. is it pass gas, complain or check their e-mail? >> real mature, everyone who said a! but the answer is b, complain. 70 times a day! >> something to give up for lent. >> oh, my goodness. >> down to 69 times a day maybe. we'll have one more check of traffic and weather right here on 9news now. stay with us.

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>> one more thing before we go. one more question for rebecca bly. our yoga expert. i've always wanted to try this. she says some of the things can help you lose weight by relaxing. is this ok to try when it is your first time out or should you try more slowly? >> absolutely. just by having a pillow under your knees and one under your head, it isn't different from lying down on your bed. holding that position for 10 minutes and relaxing, it is always nice if you have a teacher to guide you through it. >> rebecca is a teacher. >> turn off your cell phones, put the kids in the back room, whatever you need to do. >> this is good for people who are older and may have limited mobility. >> absolutely. you don't have to move. >> i do like it. >> she's going to give us some

-- rebecca, thank you. we'll put a link to rebecca's web site on our web site at wusa9.com. >> howard? >> we have warmer temperatures moving in. we'll be in the 40s today with more sunshine as the morning goes on. tomorrow and saturday in the 50s. back in the upper 40s to finish out the weekend. >> a quick look from sky 9. it slows here at route 50. off and on as you head for nutley. 395 or 270 slow from germantown down to montrose road and 395 pretty much cleared out at duke street. >> after wall street, we're looking for a bunch of new economic reports. >> we start at 4:25 tomorrow. learn what one in ten of us lie about to our health insurance provider and find out about a great program giving help to first time homebuyers. >> senator john mccain talks about why he endorsed mitt romney in the g.o.p. field on "the early show." >> howard and i will be back in 25 minutes with a live update on traffic and weather. >> don't forgeto